Seamus Heaney was born to a rural family, in 1939, in Northern Ireland. Heaney grew up on a farm, as his father was a great farmer. Heaney had great admiration for ordinary farming folk, but did not want to be a farmer himself. His poems often celebrate the skills of the ordinary rural people like the poem “Churning Day”. He also deals with the loss of childhood innocence and move to adulthood like in “An Advancement of Learning”. These two poems deal with simple experiences but important. His language is very sensuous. Experiences are evoked by sounds especially onomatopoeia and alliteration.

The themes in these poems include family relationships, closeness and security in the family, nature, the love of nature but also the negative view of nature, and moving from childhood to adulthood. For Seamus Heaney’s family, “Churning Day” is an important “Day”, I say this because Heaney gives the title “Day” which emphasizes it’s importance, (for example “New Years Day”,) it does not happen or occur everyday, (this is just like “Churning Day”,) it does not take place everyday, so it is special. It is not only the day that is important, but also the time the family spends together.

For them “Churning Day” is the time to make butter but also to spend quality time with their family. It is also a valuable process, because as the title says “butter” is being made, which is very valuable to them, it is like “gold” and “sunlight” to Heaney’s family, this is because they can sell the “butter”, when it is made, and also they can eat it, as they worked very hard to make it and their “arms ached” and “hands blistered”. He remembers the day very well, as he describes it in great detail. Heaney gives us a vivid image of what is going on.

For example when the butter is made Heaney describes it as “gold flecks”, which is sight imagery, this goes through the whole poem. And he also takes us through the process (All Stanzas). It is obvious Heaney is writing the poem after the event – when he was an adult. This is because he uses complex wording such as “gravid ease” and also uses past tense “moved” this shows us that he is narrating the poem after the actual event. And because it is in such detail we can see it was a special day to him, it was one of his memories from childhood. Heaney lived in a simple rural area, in Ireland.

His family did not have any machinery to make the butter, they “slugged and thumped for hours” whereas if they had machinery the work would have been done quick and easier. Heaney had a simple upbringing. Heaney had what he needed and what was necessary, this was because Ireland was slightly behind in Heaney’s time. Heaney is exposed to nature quite a lot. “Churning Day” is all natural as there is no machinery used it starts from the “hot brewery” which is the cow, this is a metaphor as the cow is not really a “hot brewery”- but it is what starts the process- to the person churning the butter.

Heaney’s environment is full of nature “coarse-grained as limestone rough-cast” this is a simile showing how the thick crust was as rough limestone, which there is a lot of in Ireland. There are no machines to make the butter with; everything is done by hand. They have to do everything by themselves. They put all their hard work into “Churning” the “butter” which makes it more valuable. Heaney even contrasts the setting milk to clotting blood, “coagulated sunlight”, this shows that the milk is beginning to set just like when blood is clotting.

There is also a realistic view of the “butter”, “house would stink” – this shows the smell in the house after the “butter” was churned, this shows that it was done by hand as if machinery was used then there would not be any smell left over. In “Churning Day” we can see Heaney is fond of nature as it brings good things, after the hard work, as the butter was made after all the hard work put into it. “An Advancement of Learning” is very important memory for Heaney as it was when he confronted “a rat”. We can see it is a very important event, as he would always be “deferring” the bridge, because it would mean coming face to face with “a rat”.

This also shows that he would be “deferring” the move from childhood to adulthood. For Heaney it was important to cross the bridge because he would always put off the path of the bridge. But when he crosses the bridge he feels better. We can see Heaney remembers the event clearly as he describes the rat very well, “tapered tail”, “raindrop eye, the old snout”. This shows that even when he is an adult – after the event he still remembers the event and the rat very well. We can tell Heaney is narrating the story some time after the event as he “walked” across the bridge, he uses past tense. An Advancement of Learning” is also an allegory.

This is because he is not only confronting his fear about “a rat”, but also crossing a bridge to adulthood. The bridge is the main part of the poem, which shows he is actually growing up, it the walk across the bridge that could change his life. It also means leaving the childhood fun behind to become a more mature adult. He is walking the bridge to confront his fear about the rat, but I think it is an excuse. I think this because Heaney knows by this time that it is time for him to cross the line from childhood to adulthood, and that the rat was the only thing stopping him.

In my opinion Heaney knew he could confront the rat, and he knew he was ready, but the move from childhood to adulthood was the thing that was stopping him. Heaney realises that the rat is nothing compared to him, and that it is smaller than him, which means it is of no harm to him. Because Heaney had never seen the rats just heard them when they “scraped” “Behind the hen-coop” and also above his bed on the “ceiling boards” he never really finds out that they are harmless, he doesn’t know what they look like, but when he comes face to face with one he realises that having a fear of rats is for Children.

When Heaney decides to cross the bridge he is leaving all his childhood innocence and also fears. By crossing the “bridge” he brings more responsibility to himself, and also more independence. “Churning Day” and “An Advancement of Learning” have a few similarities but are also very different in many ways. “Churning Day” is a very happy and joyful day whereas “An Advancement of Learning” is very tensed and in suspense. In “Churning Day” the tone is conveyed in different ways in every Stanza. Each stanza has a different tone. In the first stanza the tone is excitement as everything is being laid out. Pottery bombs” this is a metaphor, as the pots are not really bombs; this shows the excitement in stanza one.

There is also excitement in stanza two, as the process has started, but in addition there is pain, “hands blistered” this shows how much work was going on, but it was worth it. In stanza three the excitement builds up as the “gold flecks began to dance”, this shows the butter forming. Also in this stanza a lot of “gold” is being mentioned, this shows the butter is precious. And finally in stanza four there is relief, “we moved with gravid ease” this shows the relief and the weight taken of everyone’s shoulders.

Churning Day” is all about family unity whereas “An Advancement of Learning” Heaney is on his own and has to face his fears by himself with no one there to help him through. The narrative technique in both is different; this is because in “Churning Day” Heaney is narrating as the 3rd person but he is present as he says “we”, whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” he is narrating as 1st person as he says “I”. But both poems have been narrated when he was an adult, we can see this because he uses complicated words, such as “gravid ease” (from “Churning Day”) and “Insidiously” (from “An Advancement of Learning”) meaning secretively.

We obviously know that children do not use words like that. Although in “Churning Day” Heaney uses “plash” which sounds childish, or one that he has just made up. Which shows he remembers the event clearly. In both poems Heaney has to do a lot of hard work, mentally and physically, we can see “Churning Day” is hard work because they “slugged and thumped for hours”, this shows that they had to work really hard to make the “butter”, and in “An Advancement of Learning” Heaney has to work really hard to walk the bridge, he has to build up his bravery and courage, to confront the rat and also to move from childhood to adulthood.

Churning Day” has a slight bit of religion in it, as Heaney uses “purified”, this is not only for religion but it does remind us of religion. Whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” there is no mention of religion or there are no words that fit in with religion. Also churning day is like a ritual. And the family is united in the butter making ritual, just like people are united in the church. Heaney appreciates nature in “Churning Day” as it brings good things, for example butter. Whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” Heaney does not like nature, he does not appreciate it as much as he does in “Churning Day”.

He thinks of nature as “dirty”. The atmosphere is very different. Both poems show us that Heaney is from a farming family. There is also a lot of difference in the structure. In “Churning Day” Heaney uses a full stop at the end of each stanza, his could be to show us the next stage of the process. Also in “Churning Day” the third stanza is indented, this could be because the butter has gone from liquid to becoming a solid. In “An Advancement of Learning” Heaney uses a lot of enjambment such as “wearing” in stanza 1. This could be to continue the poem. But I think he does this to let us imagine the scene before anymore is added.

When he uses enjambment in stanza 4 “Incredibly then”, this builds up the tension and the reader wants to read on. “An Advancement of Learning” is an allegory. It has two different meanings behind it, not only confronting the rat, but also crossing the bridge from childhood to adulthood. “Churning Day” is a slight allegory as it brings out ideas of family unity. It shows family closeness as well. There are quite a few differences in the structure of each poem. “Churning Day” there are only four stanzas, with nine lines in the first and the third and eight lines in the second and last.

Whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” there are eight stanzas with four lines in each stanza. Every line does not start with capital letter and there are very few full stops, they are only there at the change of a stage. Whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” each line begins with a capital letter. There is an intendment in stanza three this could be because the butter has now turned from liquid to solid. There is not a certain rhyme scheme but the noise and the movement makes up the rhyme scheme, “plumping kettles”. There is a rhythm but it is difficult to describe.

It varies according to what is being described. That is the same as “An Advancement of Learning”. The poems do not tell us much about Heaney’s childhood. Although they do tell us a few points such as his family unity and also his fears. The poem “Churning Day” does tell us that he is happy in the simple rural life. Both the poems are very different as in “Churning Day” Heaney is with his family and they go through the whole process together. Whereas in “An Advancement of Learning” he is alone and has to come face to face with the rat himself. Heaney shows his childhood to be secure in “Churning Day”.

I can slightly relate “Churning Day ” to myself, and that is only the family unity. But I cannot relate “An Advancement of Learning” to myself, as I have not really come across anything like it. The best element of “Churning Day” is the family unity and also security because it shows the love the family has for each other. The best element of “An Advancement of Learning” is when Heaney crosses the bridge and confronts his fear and moves on as it shows bravery and courage, and victory because he stood up to the rat. Both poems are good in their own ways.

Seamus Heaney has Vivid Memories of his Childhood. Analyse Two Poems That Reflect Heaney's Childhood Memories. Refer to the Poems In Detail and Use Quotes to Illustrate Your Points. Seamus Heaney is an established Irish poet who was born on April 13th 1939. He was the oldest of nine children and was brought up on a remote farm in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. He has a lot of typically Irish memories which he includes in his poems. The three main memories that he brings up in the two poems 'Mid-Term Break and 'Follower' are the death of his brother Christopher,...

The poet Seamus Heaney is describing to incidents from childhood. "Mid term break" depicts the sombre affair of a child's death. "Death of a naturalist" on the other hand tells us of a happy event. Although the two poems are written by Seamus Heaney they are not alike, death of a naturalist for example is about a boy and his interest in nature at school. Mid term break tells us about a young boy and his brother dying in his family. The narrators of both poems are young boys who are both describing an incident from the past. The narrator...

In a wide spectrum. Heaney poesy work is characterized by childhood experience through acquisition and artlessness. Obviously. the writer attempts to convey out the subject of childhood peculiarly by seeking to recapture childhood artlessness and exhilaration. ”Death of a naturalist” and ”Blackberry picking” by Seamus Heaney is impressive and outstanding chef-d'oeuvres of poesy and analysis of the blissful nature of childhood mind. Basically. the subject of childhood transverse the whole verse form whereby the writer present his work by arousing a sense of exhilaration which purpose to trip a sense of childhood at the beginning of the verse form. For...

This makes you automatically judge what the poem will be like. In Duffy's poem she uses alliteration to describe nicer things, 'sweet shop' When you hear this you feel happier and think of nicer things. In Heaney's poem he describes things that aren't really a nice image, 'jampotfuls' and 'jellied' These don't sound as nice or give you as nice of an image as 'sweet shop' does. In the third stanza of Duffy's poem it makes you feel sort of relieved, 'freed' and 'followed'. This reminds you more of being a child. The word 'freed' makes u feel a lot less trapped and feel more comfortable. In stanza...

Seamus Heaney has many different emotions littered throughout many of his poems. Strong emotions can be seen in the poems "Death of a Naturalist" "Blackberry Picking" "Mid Term Break" "Follower" and "Digging". In "Follower" and "Digging" Heaney displays emotions of admiration as he describes his father on the farm. Whilst in "Mid Term Break" he feels sadness as he writes about the death of his brother. In "Death of a Naturalist" he feels happiness and delight when collecting frogspawn but fear during an encounter with frogs and in "Blackberry Picking" he feels joy and happiness when he picks blackberries but...

Seamus Heaney's poems, 'Digging' and 'Follower' portray to us the strong relationship between the father and son, as Heaney tends to look up to the elders in his family. Both poems create that pastoral type of atmosphere with the title, 'Digging' suggesting to us digging into the past. 'Follower' on the other hand gives us the image of the child's view of farming of imitating his father's actions. The poems suggest the perfection of Heaney's father at manual labour, introducing someone for Heaney to look up to and admire. The poem 'Follower' illustrates to us the strength and skill, which...

"Poems can capture important moments in our lives" Discuss how the poets have described the ending of childhood innocence in at least two poems you have studied. I am going to analyse two poems which share the theme of the end of the era of childhood and children growing up. The poems are Mid-term Break by Seamus Heaney and In Mrs Tilscher's Class by Carol Ann Duffy. Each of the poets reflects on memories from childhood concerning important events which took place and marked the end of childhood as they knew it. Seamus Heaney is a Northern Irish poet, from...

In the majority of Seamus Heaney poems, the presentation of a place or setting is very important. In both of these poems, it is evident throughout. In Broagh, the Irish poetic technique named Dinnshenchas is employed, the literal Irish meaning being "place lore". Through this, the poet explores the naming of the place and can often draw parallels between the name of the place and the setting's characteristics. In Broagh, the description portrays a wild piece of land, unkept and uncultivated, with phrases such as broad docken. This image is reflected by the name of the place, Broagh. It has...

When asked to compare the two poems â€“ 'Boy driving his father to confession' by Seamus Heaney and 'Praise song for my mother' by Grace Nichols the first thing that stuck out was the difference in layout. Seamus Heaney's poem is written in longer sentences and reads more like a story. Grace Nichols poem is a lot shorter with only two words in some lines and it compares her mother to various things. Seamus Heaney writes about his father in a realistic way, never praising him and only focussing on his bad points. Grace Nichols on the other hand only...

When asked to compare the two poems â€“ 'Boy driving his father to confession' by Seamus Heaney and 'Praise song for my mother' by Grace Nichols the first thing that stuck out was the difference in layout. Seamus Heaney's poem is written in longer sentences and reads more like a story. Grace Nichols poem is a lot shorter with only two words in some lines and it compares her mother to various things. Seamus Heaney writes about his father in a realistic way, never praising him and only focussing on his bad points. Grace Nichols on the other hand only...

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What do the poems "Churning Day" and "An Advancement of Learning" tell us about Seamus Heaney's childhood Essay

Seamus Heaney was born to a rural family, in 1939, in Northern Ireland. Heaney grew up on a farm, as his father was a great farmer. Heaney had great admiration for ordinary farming folk, but did not want to be a farmer himself. His poems often celebrate the skills of the ordinary rural people like the poem "Churning Day". He also deals with the loss of childhood innocence and move to adulthood like in "An Advancement of Learning". These two poems deal with simple experiences but important. His l